Films for 2018
This documentary examines the Free Art Friday movement in Atlanta – a growing community of people who freely give away a piece or two of their artwork each week in the hopes of brightening another person’s day. The film profiles a few of the artists from this community whose lives have been changed because of…
The night can be dark and full of horrors for small children, especially for Saul who has to cross a long dark corridor to get to the bathroom at night. His father impatiently waits for him to cross the corridor on his own and assures the boy that he’ll be watching the whole time. There’s…
A woman tells a beautiful and delightful fairy tale to her baby girl, using the story to explain how she and the baby’s father met and fell in love. Won Best Short at the 2017 Riverside International Film Festival among other awards.
The bond between a disabled Muslim father and his son is tested when love is pitted against religion. Everyday Khaled needs his son’s assistance to wash before prayer as part of their Islamic religious obligation, but when he suspects that his son is gay, he realizes that he would lose his ability to pray if…
In a small Finnish town, a teenage boy smuggles his girlfriend home after a party. When they realize their protection has failed and the nearest countryside pharmacy is closing soon, they must think of a way to get his father to drive them there without revealing the true reason. Screened with the kind permission of…
In ancient China, a little dragon’s inability to breathe fire must be overcome in order to take part in the New Year’s celebration.
A young religious Jew, hurrying home for Shabbat, has an unexpected encounter with a stubborn Palestinian hitchhiker, which leads to mishaps and misadventures made worse by mistrust and the language barrier. Won Jury Award for Best Short at the 2017 Stony Brook Film Festival.
In 1974, few women in Italy reported sexual assaults for fear of humiliation. After yet another rape trial ends with an acquittal, a disillusioned lawyer visits the judge responsible as he is about to eat dinner with his wife and teenage daughter.
A middle-aged couple invites an old friend for dinner. They used to socialize as couples before his divorce, but now the dynamic has changed and simmering emotions threaten to explode.
Edmontonian Daniel Ennett attempts to become the first scuba certified quadruple amputee. And then the sharks show up.
The history of humanity and of our planet in four minutes. An eco-friendly statement developed in a single shot that has it all: humor, action and tragedy.
A bird becomes trapped in birdlime, the sticky substance spread on tree branches to capture wild birds for export, but it manages to escape the exotic bird trade industry. Yet it still remains trapped in a cage, surrounded by unfamiliar sounds and un-birdlike creatures. Won Best Animated Short at the 2017 Arizona International Film Festival…
Deep in the heart of Liberia’s jungles, hundreds of chimpanzees were taken from the wild. Captured, bred, and infected with hepatitis, our closest animal relatives were to unlock the mysteries of human diseases. But what started in the 1970s as an ambitious medical experiment took deeper and darker turns through the decades. This powerful documentary…
Two coral harvester brothers are about to finish their working day, when the elder one discovers a mysterious underwater cave.
After getting fired, a man goes to his favorite bar. He could drown his sorrows or he could try to solve his money problems. But nothing will go as planned. Won the Festival Prize for Best Foreign Film at the 2016 NYC Downtown Short Film Festival among other awards.
Derek is having the blues and this does not only refer to his stage performance. When the singer wakes up in a psychiatry unit after a suicide attempt, he meets Adam, his devoted fan and at once his pain in the ass. A story about two guitars, three chords and the beginning of an unlikely…
A woman, who hasn’t seen her grown daughters for quite some time, invites them to join her, their father and grandmother for a family dinner at an upscale Chinese restaurant. She has something to tell them. Won the Audience Award at the 2017 Festival du court métrage de la Citrouille among other awards.
A young Israeli woman wishes to move to Berlin. Her father, the son of Holocaust survivors, is horrified by her decision to live in the land that killed her ancestors and refuses to speak to her again if she leaves.
The day begins and ends with donuts at Crooked Creek General Store.
Kit, the eager beaver, embarks on an odyssey through four seasons in a Canadian forest where she learns about compassion, failure, survival and community. The film features an original score performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Written and narrated by basketball great Kobe Bryant, this adaptation of his retirement announcement in 2015 after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers is a testament to his love of the game. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short.
Written and narrated by basketball great Kobe Bryant, this adaptation of his retirement announcement in 2015 after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers is a testament to his love of the game. Won the Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short.
This short documentary is crafted from an interview with Annette Rouleau, Mathematics Educator and Researcher, and footage of her travels in Bermuda, France, Italy, USA, and Canada. Original score by Bevin Booth.
A secretary becomes the sole contact between a gunman and the police in this tense drama inspired by a 911 call during a school shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the director’s graduation film in the UCLA MFA program in Film Directing. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Live Action Short.
A disillusioned Internet creator embarks on a journey to discover what it takes to make it on YouTube. Director Patrick O’Connor and Producer Rew Jones interview Internet creators in Grande Prairie and Edmonton who were making money with their YouTube channels until some of them, but not all, were demonetized. There will be a Q&A…
Passionate about the Loch Ness Monster, a man decides to explore the depth of the lake in his bathysphere in order to find it, but what if it finds him first?
When a city made entirely of cardboard catches fire, it’s up to the local fire chief and his brave deputies to save Cardboard City and its citizens from impending doom. A comedic suspense-filled animation that is fascinating to watch, particularly its brilliant crayon-drawn animated characters. Won Best New Zealand Film at the 2017 Show Me…
FIXED! is the story of the Repair Cafe Toronto, a group of volunteers who fix broken items from members of the community…for free. Won the 2018 Best Documentary Short Award.
An adolescent girl comes of age against the backdrop of serial killer Ted Bundy’s execution in 1989. Won the Grand Prix for Best Short Film at the 2017 Melbourne International Film Festival among other awards.
A new kid shows up at the high school boys’ basketball tryouts and instantly makes an impression. Will talent and drive be enough to make the team? Won Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the 2017 LA Indie Film Fest among other awards.
In a deserted rich house, a couple of amphibians explore their surroundings and follow their primal instincts. This is the directors’ graduation film in 3D animation from MoPA. It had its Alberta premiere at the 2017 Reel Shorts Film Festival. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short. Behind the Scenes video…
Toad Geno and his neighbours are forced to seek a new habitat when the pond where they live becomes a construction site.
A bank robbery, a kidnapping and a car accident – are these coincidences or are the dead bodies somehow linked? Only the ever watchful German police have a chance of figuring it out.
A short documentary on the history and resurgence of vinyl records from the perspective of an artist focused pressing plant in Cleveland, Ohio named Gotta Groove Records. A hero story about grit, manufacturing and the pursuit of passion.
An innkeeper has a creative solution to his lack of guests. Won Best Film at the 2017 Frightening48.
When marine wildlife has to adapt to the pollution surrounding it, the rules of survival change.
Two penguins wander around the sea ice. Within a hidden ice cave, they discover crates full of chili peppers with an unusual property that could change their world forever.
Stan and Victor are two vampire friends who have lived together for centuries. Stuck in an eternal routine, they spend their time arguing with each other like an old couple. Unable to take it any longer, Stan tries to kill himself … in vain!
Five-year-old Alexa comes to realize that her young mother is out of money and on the verge of a breakdown. Hoping to save the situation, Alexa makes a decision she will never forget.
When a woman’s purse is stolen right in front of him as they’re talking on the street, Just decides to chase after the thieves and get her purse back despite being in a wheelchair. Inspired by a true story. Won the Audience Choice Award for Best Short at the 2017 Stony Brook Film Festival among…
Kunstglaser is a documentary that explores the work of eccentric stained glass maker Norbert Sattler. The film provides a portrait of Sattler, a stained glass craftsman in Nova Scotia. Viewers can almost feel each break and score, holding their breath each time a delicate shape is somehow conjured from an unwieldy sheet.
The wind is Patagonia’s moving soul, and photographer Eliseo Miciu is determined to capture it. Won Best Documentary at the 2017 San Jose International Short Film Festival among other awards.
A child with a mechanical parrot searches a junkyard for scrap metal to fix its wing and inadvertently wakens a frightening creature.
A china shop owner turns to greet a customer only to discover that his worst nightmare has come true.
When a Chinese Lion Dancer performing in a city parade sees a beautiful young woman, it’s love at first sight for both of them, but the parade must continue. How will they find each other again?
Sometimes people can get lost in their work. Won the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Award for Best Short Animation among other awards.
A Pixar short about a lost-and-found box and the toy-stealing bully who ruins recess for the other kids. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short.
A behind-the-scenes look at what really happens when socks go missing.
While her mother tries to teach her how to hunt, a mosquito confesses that she doesn’t like blood. Won Best Animation Film at the 2017 Breckenridge Festival of Film among other awards.
In 1955, a Mississippi preacher tries to protect his 14-year-old nephew from two racists out for blood. Based on true events. This is the director’s pre-thesis film for the New York University’s Graduate Film Program. It won the Gold Medal for Narrative Film at the 2017 Student Academy Awards and is nominated for an Academy…
In this bittersweet story of a father-son relationship, a man who is often away on business trips connects with his son by teaching him how to pack a suitcase efficiently. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short. Making of video
The big wheel in the most exciting area of the city is the perfect real estate for a young and ambitious couple so they decide to move in together when one of the popular gondolas becomes available, but they soon realize that the leap into cohabitation might not have been the best choice. Won the…
A strange Romanian man trying to enter Canada is confronted by an overzealous custom officer and his curiously cooperative colleague.
When a young man wakes up in free fall high up in the sky, he has to figure out what to do with the limited time he has left as he hurtles earthward in this visual metaphor for life and what inevitably awaits us all.
A very old apartment dweller steps out of her “cage” and into the big city after her pet bird is accidentally set free by the little girl next door. As she searches for her lost bird, she discovers something bigger than the city itself.
While mother bird is away searching for food, her son Peep gets unexpected help from a paperplane. Together they explore the magical world around them, but their friendship is soon tested when the paper plane tries to teach Peep how to fly.
A public defender has minutes to save her 16-year-old client from a life sentence for murder by convincing him to take a plea deal for a crime he only technically committed. Won Audience Award for Best Short Narrative Film at the 2017 Ashland Independent Film Festival.
Quenottes (Pearlies) is the little mouse from childhood, known as the tooth fairy in some countries, the one who probably brought your first coins in exchange for a tooth hidden under your pillow. Won Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 2016 Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival.
Playtime turns into uncontrolled shenanigans when a child discovers rag dolls in an antique chest. Her imagination runs wild, but for the dolls’ real-life doppelgangers, self-control is out of their hands. Won Best Short Comedy at the 2017 South Dakota Film Festival among other awards. Won the 2018 Youth Audience Choice Award.
Based on the book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, this film weaves together classic fairy tales, playful twists and surprising endings. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Animated Short.
Richard Atkins was on his way to stardom and a huge career in the music business in the early 1970s as part of the California Pop Due “Richard Twice” when he mysteriously walked away from it all. This documentary reveals the events that radically changed the course of his life.
In a little forsaken village a woman prepares the funeral of her husband with utmost care – she wants everything to go according to plan, since for her it is very important to get in good with the guests. Won Best Short Film at the 2017 Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival among other awards.
A woman’s dream to become a prima ballerina is about to come true, but a secret threatens to undermine what she has spent her whole life working for.
This powerful Canadian documentary about the role of Native Americans in contemporary music history features some of the greatest music stars of our time: Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Jesse Ed Davis, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Randy Castillo, and others. It reveals the untold story of their influence on blues, jazz, folk,…
In a Montreal park, a young boy’s curiosity about a Muslim woman’s head covering leads to a discussion about hair, hijabs, and the Habs.
For the most important dinner party of her life, Joy’s blood pressure is rising as high as the soufflé. While the roast is cooked to perfection and the wine begins to flow, her veneer of middle-class respectability soon begins to crack. Won the Wedgie Award for Best Comedy Short at the 2017 Edmonton International Film…
Milly’s world revolves around her pet guinea pig Sherbert. But Milly’s mother wants her to have a “real” friend to play with and invites Milly’s older cousin Kylie for a sleepover. Kylie hates guinea pigs and thinks Milly will be a loner forever. Milly wonders if Kylie is right.
Strangers bravely confront and resolve one of the most terrifying, perplexing scourges to ever afflict mankind…while standing at urinals with their willies out. Won Best Comedy Short at the 2016 Studio City Film Festival among other awards.
Set in the 1960s, this is the story of a road trip that changed a family’s life forever. Won Audience Award for Best Narrative Short at 2017 Austin Film Festival.
Inspired by the student protests that shook Venezuela in 2014, this film tells the story of Oscar, a 19-year old Venezuelan student who is detained after helping to organize a protest against the violence in his country. With no access to media and an Internet shutdown, Oscar’s mother and friend use a Bluetooth-based software called…
When a disreputable guest is found dead at an exclusive French hotel, the concierge must find a way to make the body disappear. But he’s unaware that the couple in the next room is facing exactly the same problem. Winner of the 2018 Audience Choice Award.
An old man is determined to get rid of a mouse in his house. He captures it in a box but, as he’s about to release it outside, he notices a cat waiting, ready to pounce. Now what should be do?
Death’s son doesn’t want to take over the family business. His secret desire to become a guardian angel triggers a series of major mishaps. His dad will have to intervene to get him out of this mess.
The delusional patient of a psychiatrist believes he is actually the psychiatrist. As they each attempt to treat each other, the session gets out of control. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Live Action Short.
This adaptation of a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is an offbeat, mid-century tale about a rookie investment counselor who discovers that his penniless client is keeping a million-dollar inheritance a secret. Won Best Short Film at the 2016 San Diego International Film Festival.
On the day of the most important football match in Irish history, an expectant father is torn between witnessing the miracle of childbirth and the miracle of Ireland reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup. Won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the 2017 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.
A small man lives in a suitcase. One day, after his home is repeatedly kicked over by a stranger, he gets his vengeance only to discover his preconceptions were wrong. Won Best Short Film and Children’s Jury Special Mention at the 2017 Montreal International Children’s Film Festival among other awards.
A band’s mysterious energy blows up amps, short-circuits breakers and starts fires when they play their music. On the eve of their first (and possibly last) show, dare they risk life, limb, and legacy for a chance to play their music? Won Best NH Short Narrative at the 2017 New Hampshire Film Festival.
Profoundly deaf four-year-old Libby is expected to lip read to understand her hearing family, but it is not until Joanne, a fresh faced social worker, teaches Libby sign language that she learns to communicate. As their relationship blossoms, Libby’s mother begins to question whether Libby should be learning it at all. Nominated for an Academy…
Libby is a deaf four-year-old girl who is expected to lip read to understand her hearing family, but it is not until a caring social worker teaches Libby sign language that she learns to communicate. As their relationship blossoms, Libby’s mother begins to question whether Libby should be learning it at all. Won the Academy…
When a newlywed couple and the groom’s sister arrive at a mysterious gas station, strange things start to happen.
When his best mate asked Ed to be the best man at his wedding, Ed prepared a speech for the big day. When the day arrived, he delivered the speech just like he said he would in this adaptation of the award-winning short story by Isabelle Broom.
Since her mother’s death, thirty-year-old Zoé has been working at The Winkles, her father’s bar. One morning, Zoé starts suffering from dizzy spells and nausea. Thinking that exhaustion is to blame, she goes to the doctor, and the diagnosis changes everything. Won the César in 2018 for Best Short Film. Won the 2018 Best Live…
An elusive stranger pays Bimbo a visit in the middle of the night to deliver a vital message. Won Best Picture (Horror Shorts) at 2017 Fantastic Fest.
A couple’s plans for Halloween night take a bit of a nasty turn.
Each day, two city trams transport local citizens to their chosen destinations as the younger one learns from the older one how to do the job. As time goes by and the younger one grows up, the roles begin to reverse. Won Best Animation Film at the 2018 Golden Eagle Awards in Russia. Won the…
Directed by Calgary animator Cam Christiansen and produced by the Edmonton office of the NFB (National Film Board of Canada), WALL is an animated documentary written by UK playwright and screenwriter David Hare about the wall separating Israel and Palestine. With powerful images, it portrays life in the shadow of the wall, the reasons it…
During the Vietnam War, a Viet Cong soldier, stationed in the claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels, is haunted by the ghost of a fallen comrade after the burial ceremony is compromised.
In December 2015, a bus carrying Muslim and Christian passengers loses its police escort, leaving it vulnerable to a terrorist attack by the Al-Shabaab which has been targeting Kenya for almost a decade. An atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust between Muslims and Christians has been growing, and a woman travelling alone fears what might happen…
In December 2015, a bus carrying Muslim and Christian passengers loses its police escort, leaving it vulnerable to a terrorist attack by the Al-Shabaab which has been targeting Kenya for almost a decade. An atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust between Muslims and Christians has been growing, and a woman travelling alone fears what might happen…
Inspired by a documentary on animals, a man invites a guest for dinner who he thinks his wife should meet.
On the wrong side of a driveway in a barren yard of dry dirt and dead grass, a dandelion struggles to survive while its fellow weeds wither away and die. Across the concrete lies another yard where the sprinklers spray water and the grass is green. Can the dandelion make the journey to a better…
On the wrong side of a driveway in a barren yard of dry dirt and dead grass, a dandelion struggles to survive while its fellow weeds wither away and die. Across the concrete lies another yard where the sprinklers spray water and the grass is green. Can the dandelion make the journey to a better…
When a drone threatens its flock, a crow awakens a scarecrow to protect them.
A pirate and his lovable monkey discover a treasure chest that will grant any wish … but only if the monkey makes the wish. How can the pirate get the monkey to wish for gold instead of bananas? Won Best Animation Film at the 2017 Breckenridge Festival of Film among other awards.